Adriatic Sea Forum set to start in Budva (Montenegro) on April 27 -28, 2017

 A preview of some of the data from the Adriatic Sea Tourism Report: in 2016 there was a rise in cruise passenger traffic (approx. 5.1 million, +5.5%) and ferry passengers (17.6 million, +3.5%) and a positive situation for turnover in the marinas and charter companies.

There will be five round tables dedicated to issues regarding maritime tourism in the Adriatic, from the management of the cruise phenomenon in the area on the part of the destinations involved, to the potential for growth of ferry traffic, as well as nautical tourism and the promotion of the Adriatic as a single destination.

[ngg_images source=”galleries” container_ids=”3″ display_type=”photocrati-nextgen_basic_thumbnails” override_thumbnail_settings=”0″ thumbnail_width=”240″ thumbnail_height=”160″ thumbnail_crop=”1″ images_per_page=”20″ number_of_columns=”0″ ajax_pagination=”0″ show_all_in_lightbox=”0″ use_imagebrowser_effect=”0″ show_slideshow_link=”1″ slideshow_link_text=”[Show slideshow]” order_by=”sortorder” order_direction=”ASC” returns=”included” maximum_entity_count=”500″]The sessions will also include keynote speeches, presentations and face-to-face encounters, during the two days devoted to in-depth study, business networking and debate.

This is a summary of the programme of the third edition of Adriatic Sea Forum – cruise, ferry, sail & yacht, the international event dedicated to maritime tourism in the Adriatic organised by Risposte Turismo and set to take place in Budva (Montenegro) on Thursday 27 and Friday 28 April in the Splendid Conference & Spa Resort on the Becici peninsula.

Organised this year in partnership with the Montenegro National Tourism Organisation, the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism of Montenegro and the Public Enterprise for Coastal Zone of Montenegro, Adriatic Sea Forum is a benchmark event for all operators interested in the cruise, ferry and nautical sectors in the area.

Francesco di Cesare, President of Risposte Turismo, the company that devised and organised the forum, declared: “Following the editions in Italy and Croatia, for Adriatic Sea Forum it is now the turn of Montenegro, one of the most dynamic international tourist destinations, set to welcome over 200 of the main operators in the various sectors covered by the Forum.
The increasingly high level of skills of those taking part is a demonstration of the important role played by the Forum in the dynamics of maritime tourism in the Adriatic”.

Day one of Adriatic Sea Forum 2017 will be hosting a plenary session entitled “Tackling the Adriatic challenge together” and dedicated to the promotion of the Adriatic as a single tourism destination, anticipated by a keynote speech by Simone Masé, Chief Marketing Officer of Publicis Communications, dedicated to the creation of a brand.

The speakers expected for this session are Ardit Collaku, Director of the Albanian National Tourism Agency; Roberta Milano, Marketing Manager of ENIT; Maja Pak, General Manager of the Slovenian Tourist Board, and Zeljka Radak–Kukavicic, Director of the Montenegro National Tourism Organisation.
When work resumes, Francesco di Cesare will be presenting the new edition of the Adriatic Sea Tourism Report, the research report realised by Risposte Turismo that for five years now has been offering an analysis of the flows, dimensions, nature and directions of tourism movements in the cruise, ferry and nautical segments in the seven countries that face onto the Adriatic area.

According to the study by Risposte Turismo, compared to 2015, 2016 came to a positive close for all forms of maritime tourism in the Adriatic.

More specifically, cruise traffic in the ports in the area recorded a rise in the number of both passengers (approx. 5.1 million, +5.5%) and calls (more than 3,700 +10.5%). Last year, Italian ports recorded a figure of 2.3 million passengers (-2.5%) and 843 calls (-1.4%); although with minor negative variations on the previous year, these results have confirmed Italy at the top of the country list, ahead of Croatia and Greece.

There was also a rise in ferry, hydrofoil and catamaran traffic, which last year totalled 17.6 million passengers (+3.5%) and over 83,500 calls (+4.6%). In this segment of maritime tourism, the best performance was by Croatian ports, followed by those in Greece and Italy.

As regards the nautical sector, a survey carried out on a sample of marinas (65) and charter companies (24) offered a positive picture of turnover in the sector.

“The year that has just finished”, di Cesare added, “shows a generally positive picture for the Adriatic area, which has the potential to do better still in all aspects of maritime tourism. It is this delegates will be discussing during the round tables and business networking windows. The cruise industry is seeking a new balance, pending a definitive solution for Venice, and in the meantime, results are highly positive in the southern part of the area (especially Corfu and Kotor); ferries are witnessing growth once more, partly thanks to less expensive bunker costs, with operators introducing or planning to introduce new routes; investments in new marinas and renovation work in existing ports has also been noted. This is an interesting scenario, likely to bring positive new developments in the medium term”.

After a keynote speech by Tom Fecke, Secretary General of CLIA Europe, the opening day of the forum will also host a dialogue on planning cruise routes in the Adriatic between Carla Salvadó, Cruise Marketing Manager of Global Ports Holding and Michel Nestour, Vice President of Global Port & Destination Development Euromed Carnival Corp.

Day two of the forum will begin with two round-table discussions dedicated, respectively, to the potential for development of ferry traffic (title: “The ferry route to discovering destinations in the Adriatic: from the sea to the land”) and nautical tourism (“From maxi yachts to small boats: how can Adriatic guide the Mediterranean?”).

After a speech by Anastasios Konidaris, Cruise Manager of Santorini about the management of cruise tourism on that island, the morning will continue with a round-table discussion focusing on the management of the cruise phenomenon on the part of tourist destinations involved such as Bar, Corfu, Dubrovnik, Koper, Kotor and Ravenna (“Cruise destinations in the Adriatic: challenges, opportunities and strategies”).

This will be followed by a speech from Christos Economou, Head of the “Sea-basin strategies, Maritime Regional Cooperation and Maritime Security” Unit of the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the European Commission, who will be talking about sustainable tourism in the European strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian region.

Adriatic Sea Forum will continue in the afternoon with a discussion between Joan Gual de Torrella, President of the Port Authority of the Balearic Islands, and Francesco Maria di Majo, President of the Central-Northern Tyrrhenian Ports Authority, on the challenges regarding the management of ports with a high volume of passenger traffic, before concluding with a plenary session dedicated to the current situation of maritime tourism in the Adriatic and future prospects, with a focus on the role of Montenegro (“The present and future of maritime tourism: Montenegro as a strength for the Adriatic”).

The speakers expected for this last session are Marco Digioia, Director of Government Affairs of CLIA Europe; Nikola Dobroslavić, President of the Adriatic-Ionian Euroregion; Linda Haydon, Group Tourism Manager of the ETOA (European Tour Operators Association); Christos Lampridis, Secretary General for “Ports, port policy and maritime investment” of the Greek Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Island Policies; Thanos Pallis, Secretary General of MedCruise, Marko Petričević, Director of the Destination Management Department of the Ministry of Sustainable Development and Tourism of Montenegro, and Boris Zgomba, Vice-President of ECTAA (European Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators’ Association).